It was a message South Carolina State men’s basketball coach Tim Carter aimed specifically at two players, but one he hoped resonated with the entire team.

Displeased with the efforts of starters Darnell Porter and Westley Telfaire in the season-opener against Erskine College, Carter benched both players for the entire second half. The Bulldogs would see a 17-point lead disappear and narrowly avoided overtime as Brandon Wright’s 3-pointer missed at the buzzer of a 56-53 win.

After five days of practice, Carter will see if S.C. State learned its lesson when it returns to action tonight at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center against Allen University.

“I think we got our point across,” Carter said. “We’re just not going to not come out and play 40 minutes of inspired basketball. Just basketball you think you’re playing someone that may not be as good as you, you still have to come with your ‘A’ game. I think we got our point across. We’ll find out tomorrow if it was effective.”

Along with increased intensity, Carter is seeking improved production from more than just preseason All-MEAC selection Jason Flagler. Both newcomers Rio Pitt and Jodd Maxey struggled at times against the smaller Flying Fleet and, with Arsenio Williams having twisted his injured ankle at Wednesday’s practice and Carter still seeking a solid backcourt rotation, getting scoring from the post is important right now.

The Bulldogs (1-0) have gotten a boost from one newcomer point guard Khalif Toombs, who had a team-high 10 points against Erskine College.

“He’s been a very pleasant surprise,” Carter said. “He’s doing a tremendous job in leadership as a freshman.”

Allen, coached by former S.C. State assistant coach Tim Gates, brings a 3-1 record into S-H-M and looking to avenge last year’s 98-68 loss in Orangeburg. Carter expects to see a “hard, defensive team” in the Yellow Jackets.

Tonight’s game will mark the debut of assistant coach Sean Golden on the S.C. State sidelines. The son of former Southside head coach Louis Golden, the former University of Georgia point guard previously served as head coach at Newberry College from 2004-08.

Golden replaces Lorenzo Watkins who served just one season as an assistant coach. WSSB (90.3 FM) will carry tonight’s game starting at 7:30 p.m.

 

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